FA may throw book at Keane
Solskjaer to rescue for United as victory lifts cloud over Captain Crisis
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Your support makes all the difference.The Football Association added weight to Roy Keane's woes yesterday when it was revealed that they intend to charge the Manchester United captain with bringing the game into disrepute over his admission in his forthcoming autobiography that he deliberately injured Manchester City's Alf-Inge Haaland.
Keane and his club are already facing legal action from the player and his club over the incident at Old Trafford in April last year. The FA chief executive Adam Crozier refused to pre-empt the decision when he spoke on BBC's Football Focus, claiming that it would not be right until the book had been studied in full and the comments about Haaland put in context.
"It doesn't matter who the player is, what club they are, what league they perform in," Crozier said. "If there's a charge to be answered, then a charge will be answered. Certainly what we've read so far is not pleasant reading. It's not what you want to see... people within the game having a go at each other. Unless there's something particularly different in the book, we will be taking a very close look at it."
Another FA source confirmed last night: "Although we are waiting to see the book and will take a thorough look at it, unless there's some real Mother Teresa stuff in there, we will be charging him with bringing the game into disrepute. Footballers are role models. We want kids to copy Beckham free-kicks on the day after a match, not a horrendous tackle."
Keane was shown a yellow card in yesterday's 1-0 victory over Premiership newcomers West Bromwich Albion on the season's opening afternoon. But he left the field smiling after substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's late winner – his 100th goal for the club – against the 10-man Baggies, Derek McInnes having been sent off for a two-footed lunge on Nicky Butt.
Terry Venables got one over on another former England manager, Kevin Keegan, as his new club Leeds made a winning start against promoted Manchester City. Nick Barmby proved life after Rio Ferdinand can be as sweet as he inspired his new club to a 3-0 victory. The £2.75m signing from Liverpool needed just 15 minutes of his first League game for the Elland Road club to collect his first goal, and it was he who provided the pass for Mark Viduka to make it 2-0 just before the break. Substitute Robbie Keane, a target for Tottenham, added a third nine minutes from time.
In new captain Dominic Matteo and Lucas Radebe, Leeds had the perfect answer to the Ferdinand question as the £13m striker Nicolas Anelka was kept quiet.
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